Experts from across the Taiwan Straits and Hong Kong praised the role that Chinese compatriots in Taiwan played in the fight against Japanese invaders during the island’s half-century as a Japanese colony, during a seminar commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the recovery of Taiwan. Through his Realist lens, White has been pessimistic about Taiwan’s ability to resist China and has argued that the worldwide community might not be inclined to risk its relationship with Beijing – let alone nuclear war – to defend the democratic island-nation.
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Ironically, despite the balance of power having shifted in China’s favour, Beijing’s list of options to coerce Taiwan is rather limited – and there is reason to believe that it is cognisant of this.
“Maintaining the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and maintaining no changes to the position that Taiwan is part of China is a sacred mission for all the sons and daughters of China”, he explained. While China continues to claim ownership of Taiwan, many citizens of the island insist that the nation is independent of mainland. There has been contention over the political and legal status of the island nation ever since.
The Nationalists fled to Taiwan during the Chinese civil war in 1949, but later reconciled with the Communists over their shared conviction that Taiwan remains a part of Chinese territory despite its separate political status.
“No matter who is elected eventually, the existing exchanges across the straits won’t stop”, said Zhu, referring to the current cooperation between the two sides in many fields, including tourism, culture and economy.
Drawing on Taiwan’s success in advancing cross-strait ties and mutual trust, Massachusetts said his government has found a pragmatic and feasible approach to promoting resources sharing and resolving disputes.
Asked if this was the case, Mr An Fengshan, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan was in a very “special and sensitive time” and implied Chinese tourists may be in danger during the election period. The first day when the Japanese army set foot on Taiwan, they suffered Taiwanese’s resolute resistance, and almost 650,000 Taiwan people had died in the war. The move has attracted criticisms from a few pundits in China. Hung was nominated on July 19 as the KMT candidate but has been lagging behind Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in polls.
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Beijing has vowed not to interfere in the elections, which is scheduled for January 2016.
